Syracuse Wins to get 73rd and Final Big East Showdown with Georgetown

Syracuse has already secured the best of 73 Big East series 37-35, but they will play Georgetown one more time in Big East play Friday. Twenty-eight years after Patrick Ewing dunked over Rony Seikaly (pictured) to help No. 1 Georgetown beat No. 13 Syracuse in a 1985 Big East Semifinal game, James Southerland continued his air show by hitting all six three-pointers against Pitt to set up one final conference meeting between the two in the 2013 Big East Semifinals. A list of all 72 past results is below.

If Southerland had missed even one of his six bombs, then No. 19 Syracuse would likely have moved onto the NCAA tournament and then ACC next year. Instead, they survived a strong second half surge by No. 17 Pitt to hang on for a 62-59 win. Georgetown and Big East Player of the Year Otto Porter dominated Cincinnati earlier in the day to advance.

Teams are just having trouble getting even a hand in the face of Southerland, as the thin, 6-foot-8 player is comfortable going up to 25-feet from the basket to launch away. Jim Boeheim must hope that Southerland stays hot after Georgetown decisively swept the regular season series. The Hoyas came into the Carrier Dome and ended Syracuse’s national best 38-game home winning streak, then destroyed Syracuse 61-39 at Georgetown.

It is appropriate that the final showdown is on a neutral court in the most famous arena in the world, Madison Square Garden. Both teams have dominated the other at home, as is often the case in basketball. Syracuse has won only six times at Georgetown, and the win at the Carrier Dome this season was only the 11th time Georgetown has won at Syracuse. Ironically the Big East series started with an unlikely road win, as Georgetown traveled to the last game at Manley Field House and shocked Syracuse by ending their 57-game home winning streak to kick off one of the many great college rivalries being killed off by conference realignment.

With Georgetown ranked No. 5 and being led by Big East Player of the Year Otto Porter, Friday’s game will mark the 41st time that both teams have been ranked. The following is the result of every Big East game between the two.